A well known problem with owning and caring for domesticated birds and other animals is the maintenance and convenience of use. For example, most birds are typically messy when eating and have a tendency to drop food and other matter, including feces, on the bottom of the bird cage, on the sides of the bird cage, on top of the bird cage while on a perch and even outside of the bird cage onto the floor surrounding the bird cage. This creates quite a mess on the bars of the bird cage and especially in the bottom of the bird cage where waste accumulates and must be cleaned on a regular basis. Bird owners typically place absorbent material, such as newspaper, wood shavings or corn cob in the bottom portion of the bird cage to collect feces and water spilled from the bird's water dish. However, the absorbent material must be replaced on a regular basis and the bird cages must also be sprayed down and washed on a regular basis. Bird cages cannot be sprayed down inside and typically need to be taken outside and to be washed down with a hose. This poses a problem for bird owners who live in condos or apartments and cannot take the bird cages outside for cleaning. This also poses a problem for bird owners who own large cages that are difficult to move. Cages that are difficult to move also prevent a pet owner from being able to move a pet from one location to another, such as from inside of a house onto a patio. An even further problem with conventional cages is that owners are limited in where they can place the cages for fear that an animal may be exposed to heat or sunlight. For example, an owner may want to place a bird cage on a patio during the day, but the heat and exposure to sunlight through the bars of the cage prevents the owner from doing so.
Thus, a need exists for a habitat that replaces conventional bird cages and allows a user to easily maintain and clean the habitat, to easily move the habitat from location to location, and protects animals from the elements when it is placed outdoors.
An additional problem faced by gardeners is the placement of small gardens, such as herb gardens. Many such gardens create a mess on the surface below the pots and are difficult to move for the purposes of placing the garden in direct sunlight or moving the garden out of extreme weather conditions.
Thus, a need exists for providing a habitat that can be used as a portable garden.
The relevant prior art includes the following references:
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